Load-shedding

Nepal uses hydropower to generate most of their electricity and this can cause a lot of problems with power shortages throughout the country. The summer monsoon season creates the most power, but as the rain dries up there are an increasing number of power outages. I've read that Nepal is actually the perfect environment for the use of hydropower because of its typography, but the country has only developed a small portion of its hydropower potential - leaving it unable to meet demand.

Now we are at the tail end of the monsoon, but the government has already set a power cut schedule of 46 hours per week to manage electricity demand in Kathmandu Valley. Apparently these are the good days!!

By winter, load shedding could reach up to 16 hours per day.

Above is an example of the load-shedding schedule for this week. The different groups are organized by location (my flat is located in group 3) and today I'll have no power from 12pm-3pm and 8pm to 11pm. The worst is when the electricity goes out at night because the sun is currently setting at 6:30 and it can be completely dark by 7pm. This is when my head lamp comes in handy!

Monkey, dog and a view

I recently moved into an apartment that I found through a very popular google group called KTMKTM. I have two flatmates, one from Germany and one from Canada, and we have a dog that is ownded by the family below us, which is always outside barking at the gate. 

This morning I woke up early because our dog was barking extremely loudly at a passing monkey.

If I look out beyond the gate, this is the view from my bedroom window:

Nepali cooking 101: Momo

Since arriving I've been learning more about the Nepali cuisine and have tried so many different local dishes - everything from buffalo brain to tasty daal bhaat. Momo, which are somewhat similar to steamed dumplings, are one of my favorite things to eat.

Today I took a cooking class with Social Tours in order to learn how to cook momo. The class began by shopping for ingredients...

The cabbage, red onions, carrot, coriander, green spring onions, ginger and garlic had to be very finely chopped/ground and then mixed together with the spices - turmeric, cumin, red chili powder, garammasala and MoMoMasala. The tomatoes were used to make a spicey sauce that goes well with the momos. The dough part of momos is a mixture of flour and water. We made vegetarian momo and chicken momo.

The toughest part (also the most fun) was actually wrapping the momo with the dough because it's a bit of an art form in itself.

That is my first attempt at folding a momo! It's definitely not perfect and a bit too squashed, but I think I improved with practice. This momo was folded using a round technique, but we also made another style which are longer and more like a fan shape. After folding the momos, they went into a steamer for roughly 15 minutes.

A quick stop at Durbar Square and dinner

I plan to return again, but I happened to walk by Durbar Square and only took a few photos of the surrounding area. This square dates back to the 11th century and is another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Last night my friend P invited me to visit his family home and to eat some home-made Nepali food with them. It was such a treat and I feel really lucky to have been included in dinner. The house is situated right near Durbar Square and it is a historical sight in itself. The house is hundreds of years old and the family is not allowed to make renovations because of it's history. It was a beautiful home with a courtyard and multiple floors. The ceilings are all very low, partially because the average Nepali is only 5 foot 3 inches tall and also because it is built to be resistant to Nepal's frequent earthquakes.

We had a number of appetizers to start (fried fish, spiced peanuts, pickled vegetables, cooked soy beans, fried chicken, papadums, etc) and then for dinner we had Dhal Bhaat. It included a portion of rice with different foods that you mix into it. Last night we had chicken, chickpeas and a tomato pickle sauce. There is also a bamboo soup that I didn't include in the photo. Everything was delicious and very filling!

My friend's brother gave me a lift home on his motorcycle, which was an incredibly easy and fast way to get through the narrow streets with traffic. Now I understand why so many people choose to drive motorcycles here...if only I could too!

It's not a monsoon unless it's flooding

 

I happened to be a 15-20 minute walk away from my hotel when a heavy rain started. It was crazy when I had to cross this street too! I was drenched by the time I got back and I'm a little worried that my Birkenstocks aren't going to survive after walking down these streets.

Touring Bhaktapur

Yesterday I visited Bhaktapur with a new friend who offered to take me around for a the day with his family. The city dates back to the 8th century and it was actually the capital of Nepal until at least the 12th - 15th century. It is a Newari city

There are big ponds around the outside of the city, which are filled with fish. My friend has a 2 1/2 year old son who was really excited to feed the 'fishys', so we sat around the pond for a little bit and made some fish extremely happy.

Apparently there is a Newari saying that 'if you take the fish home, they will turn into snakes', which is why no one takes them from the pond and it remains full of very large fish.

I could see hills all around the city while I walked around - a bit like in the background of my last photo. My friend said that in October the sky will be a less hazy and one will be able to see the mountain range.

Early morning and monsoon rain

This morning I woke up around 4:30am unable to sleep and I lay in bed listening to the city as it began to wake up. Starting with the sound of an occasional truck dropping something off, then the clinking sounds of shopkeepers opening the gates to their stores while having quiet conversations. Around 6:30 a group of musicians paraded down the street playing drums and cymbals. (I’m really curious to know what that was all about. Were they trying to wake everyone up?) As it became light outside, the sounds of honking and motorcycle engines joined the streets, until suddenly the street was fully awake and active.

My day ended up being fairly busy because I went to view a flat in the Lalitpur/Patan area. Since I was already in the area, I decided to walk to Patan’s UNESCO world heritage site, Durbar Square. I took this photo while walking towards the square…but do you notice the ominous cloud lingering in the background?

 

Well the storm begain within a few minutes. It was pouring rain – my first experience of the monsoon! I quickly hopped in a cab.

The rain cleared up again by the time we had reached Thamel, the area where I am currently staying.

Arrival

It’s official, I have arrived in Kathmandu where I will be living for the next four months. I snapped a few photos of my first glimpse of Nepal from the airplane window, but the images don’t capture the large green forested hills that appeared as we landed.

At the airport I easily got my 3 month tourist visa and then went on to purchase an NCell Sim card for my unlocked phone. Interestingly, the process of joining NCell with a pay-as-you-go Sim included having my fingerprints taken and providing my grandfathers full name. 

After an afternoon to get settled in the hotel, my former colleague (P) and his wife invited me out for dinner! It is brilliant timing that he is also in Kathmandu this month, visiting his family and friends. It’s really amazing that I get to see a familiar face so soon.

P brought me to a restaurant called Or2K and it looks like the type of place I’ll return to soon. There were a mix of people there, from large groups of friends having a night out to a few individuals working on their laptops and eating alone. Pictures next time!

I’m struggling to blog at all because of a painfully weak internet signal, so I’m going to call it a night and hopefully overcome any pending jet lag.